A study of UK healthcare workers found alarmingly high rates of overdoses with links to the workplace.
A study of doctors, nurses and other UK healthcare workers has found 43% of drug-related deaths used drugs they got from work.
The analysis of 58 coroners reports over the last two decades included deaths from people working in hospitals, general practices and pharmacies, as well as students studying to become a healthcare professional.
The most common drug-related deaths were in anaesthetists, followed by GPs, surgeons and psychiatrists. In all deaths, healthcare workers had access to controlled medicines.
“This report is the first to analyse the deaths of those working or studying in a healthcare setting who died via substance use. It makes for distressing reading and is a reminder that we need to do better to look after the people who care for us,” Dr Caroline Copeland, lead author and pharmaceutical medicine expert at King’s College, London, told media.
The most common drugs involved in deaths were opioids, accounting for almost half of the cases, then benzodiazepines, which were involved in a quarter of deaths.
Accidental deaths overwhelmingly occurred in men, who accounted for 88% of the category, and men also accounted for two in three suicides.
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More than two in three deaths occurred in a hospital toilet.
A similar proportion had one or more mental health condition, usually depression.
Three of the 58 deaths happened when the worker was told they were being investigated criminally or for professional misconduct, after which they suicided.
But one in seven deaths occurred in healthcare workers who were self-medicating to relieve pain.
“This study reveals why mental health support for healthcare workers should start at the very beginning of their career and not be a temporary plaster for a gaping wound,” Dr Copeland said.
“This is an urgent problem as the suicide rate among healthcare workers is 24% higher than the national average in the UK.
“Doctors and nurses work in stressful, high-pressured environments and need bespoke care and support tailored to the specific challenges they face.”
